Are you afraid of airplanes or afraid of flying?

¿Are you afraid of airplanes or afraid of flying??

Today begins a new series of special deliveries, where to speaká in a very simple way on the topic of aviation safetyón as a mode of transportation and because we must feel safe and calm when flying.

Check out the second installment.: The pilots.
Check out the third installment.: Turbulence and other factors.

Post written by: Capturesán Rodolfo Estrella (with littleñNicol's contributionsás Larenas)
FAA Commercial Pilot
Twitter: @rodo_estrella

When traveling who are afraid of planes, First-timers or those who are nervous by nature encounter the discomfort of flying, the fear of being locked in a device several kilometers awayómeters high causes a sensationón of fear and uncertainty in the passenger who does not knowóhow does an avi workón, How safe is it to fly in one and why?é stadiumíaesthetically it is the second méall transport másafest in the world (being the first elevator the elevator).

First of all, themselvesún HERE (Associationón International Transport Aéreo) in his study of úlast toños, on commercial flights it occurredó one fatal accident every 3.1 million flights in 2015 and in 2016 each 3.2 millions of flights which tells us that in additionás to be extremely safe ísafety indices are increased throughés of the años.

¿Whyé we are afraid?

Histórichly, fear in human beings in any situationón se forma a raíz of ignorance, and it is the same in the matter of transportation toéreo, a passenger without further knowledge obviously beingá afraid of using a means of transportation that you don't know about and that at first glance, looks dangerous. Speed, the altitude, noise, the sounds, the sensationón of a pressurized cabin are a source of stress for many and it is time to demystify it.

We have all had or are afraid of something. There are people who are afraid of a spiderñor there are people who have  terror of standing in the útop floor of a building regardless of its height. If such simple fears exist in people, Flying is no wonder an activity that can generate moreás of concernóno and  estés in the traveler.

This phrase must have been oría thousand times, «flying is the means of transportationás safe». So that youú, Juanito, you are part of an accidentéreo, dutyífly by 3.000 añthose followed to live something así, so the odds are remote.

First delivery: The Grandpaón

The first concernópassenger number, ¿the grandfatherón is able to withstand a flight without breaking? The answer is yesí, He saysño of modern commercial aircraft takes into account the hostile environment they face during flight and are capable of withstanding severe conditions and their designñor structural makes it possible for them to resist up to twice what they can withstandíto a normal flight in turbulence máis intense.

Many times, Concerned passengers look out the windows, wings flapáduring the flight and causes fear that they may break however this is part of the designño from aircraft, from the trálogical accidents of the Lockheed Electra in the yearsños 50 It has been shown that a completely r wingígida tends to be structurally less strong than a design wingño flexible.

Currently it isán using components such as carbon fiber whose flexibility, Strength and structural integrity is superior to that of traditional metals and alloys used in construction.ón berriesáutica, así as wellén, They have the great advantage of being más light. These new materials are additionally used in the manufacture of other aircraft components..

I've seen people say: ¡the grandfatherón the one I am going to travel in has hélists! ¡It must be oldísimo! ¡It's a plane! And it is a false conceptionón what is there, In reality, the turbine airplanes that we all consider modern are just one type of airplane and in aviationómodern commercial n is used además airplanes with turboh enginesélice that they are not más that jet engines that instead of powering a “fan” or fan which is the part móvile that we see moving in front of a turbine, this drives a hélice.

turboh planeséModern lice are popular with aerolícompanies for their benefits of low fuel consumption and operating efficiency.ón on short stretches and at destinations with short runways. We will see them generally covering regional routes to minor destinations where the presence of turbojet aircraft is not justified.ás large.

turboh planesélice are only airplanes with an alternative propulsionón different from the jet we know asúnly and currently its constructionón and efficiency makes them very safe and reliable and
no way, for being propelled by hélists, makes them worthy of the old label.

Systems and navigationón

When driving an autoóvile we all see the road and know by dónde ir, but ¿cóhow the pilots know in the sky by dónth of?

from the aviónumber of passengers más modest to the más moderno “Jumbo” They have navigation systemsón that allow pilots to know their locationón along the route, pilots plan their routes using the famous “aerovías” that are not meáI know that “invisible paths” predetermined in the air where the planes circulate to their destinations, control of tráI'm theéreo and the jurisdictionón berriesáutica de tub area o país determineás the altitude at which aircraft can fly on these aerovías. the grandfatherón in which you are a passenger does not fly randomly in the sky, but uses strict rules applied to shipping routesón and assigned altitudes that will take you to your destination in the form más efficient and safe.

Currently, navigation systemsón on board airplanes mámodern s present méall displayón of the route to follow to the pilots, which increases their situational awareness and reduces the risk of a deviation.óroute no.. The industry works every dayíto improve navigation systemsón to do the pilot's job más simple providing additional security.

Additional to navigation systemsón, Modern aircraft have radar systems that allow the crew toón visually see areas of bad weather in advanceón to request devíthe route, which reduces the possibility that the aircraftón inadvertently enter an area of ​​bad weather and passengers may be frightened by strong turbulence.

Equally, The planes have systems that prevent two or moreás planes collide in the air. This system called TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System), allows pilots to act  coordinated in the event of a possible approach with another aircraft in the air. This system is automaticátically communicates between aircraft in questionónth of a thousandénumber of seconds, determining thaté avión ascendá and witháhe will descendá to theí avoid any approach below the mínimos de separationón.

The pilot says there is a problem in flight with the planeón.

I saw oneóIt is not a mechanical deviceáonly one that, despite being very safe, can have flaws (whoseén it has not happened to him that a díyour car just won't start, per más regular maintenance that you give it), These can be simple or catastrophic failures.óyou stay, It's the crew's job.ón assess the risk and severity of an in-flight emergency, For this the crews alsoáHaving received training in the management of each emergency, they have procedures on board to follow to solve the various problems that may arise., el QRH (Quick Reference Handbook) for example it is a “book” on board where he presents the pilots with a guideístep by step to solve the problems máfrequent operation of the aircraftón which guarantees and standardizes emergency management, Additionally, modern airplanes have systems that present informationóDetailed description of the problems they present in flight and checklists to solve them.

There are times when the problem is a pressurization issue.ón, a pressure leakóinternal damage due to a failure in the fuselage or pressurization equipmentón. There are several types of depressurizationón, being the mádepressurization is seriousón explosive (imagine a bomb in flight) the grandfatherón loseá on takenón internal immediately and beá exposed to pressureón exterior. In this case the ox masks will be deployedíGeno and the crewón will carry out a very violent emergency descent, this could be a situationón of extreme terror however it must unfold that way, This is because the human body exposed to a pressureón atmosphereérich to cite an example 35.000 feet has a time of consciousness of 30 seconds to 1 minute before passing out due to lack of oxygenígene or suffer hypoxia, for this reasonón it is a priority to take the aircraft rárequested at a flight level where the concentrationón of oxygen is sufficient for one breathónormal number of all occupants.

Additionally, the pilots call traffic control.áI'm theéinmate declaring an emergency which generates a conditionópriority over other aircraft, control guarantees a separationón suitable from other aircraft, supportá to the crewón with any requirement and will provide the necessary ground support in the event of a return to the airport, activating emergency protocols on the ground
where teams mémedical and emergencyáReady to handle any situationón.

This is an extreme case of emergency, However, Most of the time emergencies are resolved by the crew.ón without the need to provoke extreme maneuvers and almost always without
losses to mourn. That is why it is always advisable to pay attention to the safety demonstrations of the cabin crew to know howóhow to act in an emergency.

Recent publications show that the 90% of passengers do not pay attentionón to the safety instructions, which reduces the possibility of survival of the passenger in the event of a serious accident. That is why it is highly necessary for passengers to be aware of paying attention to the safety instructions of the cabin crew..

Finally I recommend personally, always remaining with seat belts fastened even when the crewón have turned off the señto the seat belts, There have been cases in which úlast toñwhere unexpected severe turbulence has thrown some passengers out of their seats, hurting themáseriously.

the aviationón and commercial flight is very safe, accidents though are very rare, they happen from time to time and are always chains of events that can be avoided, the industry, based on experience, works every dayíto improve the íSafety ratings and manufacturers improve tooén their planes to make them más safe and reliable but additional to the efforts made by the industry alsoéIt is up to us as passengers to inform ourselves about the subject to demystify and remove fear., así as wellén contribute with our grain of sand to make our flights much moreás safe by following instructions and collaborating with the crews whose job is to take us safely to our destinations.